The Indiana Fever appear to have avoided a serious injury scare. Forward Aliyah Boston, who missed her first WNBA game with an injury, was back at practice on Monday.
Boston left Friday’s game against the Washington Mystics in the third quarter of their 104-102 overtime loss. She finished the game with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes.
After she was ruled out of the following game against the Seattle Storm, there was immediate concern that the injury could sideline her for an extended period. However, Boston’s return to practice is an encouraging sign that she may be close to returning to the lineup as the Fever prepare for their next game against the Portland Fire.
The Athletic’s James Boyd shared a video showing Boston participating in practice, suggesting she missed the previous game as a safety step. In that video, Fever assistant coach Brian January was seen focusing heavily on their defensive structure. Boston was involved with key players such as Lexie Hull, Monique Billings, Sophie Cunningham and Raven Johnson.
Myisha Hines-Allen replaced Boston in the game against the Storm. She had a solid game with eight points, six rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes. The Fever won the game 89-78 behind Caitlin Clark’s 21 points.
What did Stephanie White say about Aliyah Boston’s injury?
Amid several storylines surrounding Aliyah Boston’s injury, head coach Stephanie White also spoke about what happened to her.
“Yesterday we talked about it a little bit, and you know, it’s day-to-day, so today she’s out, and we’ll evaluate again tomorrow.”
While White didn’t go into specifics about the injury, whether it’s a new one or related to the one she sustained during Unrivaled:
“Our medical team can give you specifics about, you know, what exactly it is, but we’ve said this since the first day of training camp, like, we’re gonna be managing her and managing her ramp-up, managing her in the day-to-day.”
She made it clear that she intends to take things slow regarding Boston’s health.
“Again, it’s still early, and so there’s no reason to really push anything, and we want to make sure that we are utilizing an abundance of caution.”
She didn’t seem to be overly concerned, as she admitted the team is just trying to be cautious. The patience comes with good reason, though, as the Fever, who’ve been a playoff team with Caitlin Clark’s arrival and a near-constant threat to make a deep postseason push, are trying their best to keep the long term in mind instead of rushing their key players back into action before she’s ready.
Boston is in her fourth season with the Fever. In 127 games, she has averaged 14.4 points and 8.4 rebounds on 54.6% shooting. The forward has been one of the most consistent players for the Fever and has the most consecutive games with a double-double.
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